Know how I know you live in Colorado?

When you go to the drive-through of the bank and they send back a granola bar instead of a sucker. True story.

Vocabulary Explosion!

Parker has been talking like crazy lately! It's always fun to hear him learn new words, but they're really starting to take shape. Remember the thanksgiving hand turkey post last week? It's still on the fridge, and yesterday morning he pointed at it and said "gobble gobble". Last night it was "kick it" as he was trying to put his foot to a tennis ball, and he's getting better at recognizing Santa and saying "ho ho". (Who, by the way, is a better friend at a distance just yet.)

More words to come, I'm sure!

Mountain Weather Report

I think our wonderful Indian Summer is a thing of the past. Up until last week, we'd really been enjoying the warm days and cool nights, (although the daily 40+ degree temperature swings has been a little hard on the plants, I think). We've actually had some cloudy days recently, which is a little unusual. Before last week I could count on one hand the number of days where the sky is just boring gray.

So, check that as another well-kept Colorado secret...lots and lots of sunny days!

Caught a nice sunrise hitting the east face of Long's Peak (I'm getting better with my mountain terminology!) and the moon still high on the horizon.

Bathtime is fun again!

Parker hasn't been a fan of bathtime lately. He loves the pool, loves splashing in the sink, but lately he just doesn't want anything to do with the tub. So I've been trying to think of a way to make it enjoyable for him again and saw a great recipe for making your own bath paint. What did we have to lose?

He was a little unsure about it at first, and before long the giggling and splashing was in full force. Clean baby, clean bathtub, and all is well with the world again. Moms out there--the recipe is super easy and makes plenty for lots of bathtime fun! 1/3 cup clear dishsoap, 1 tbsp cornstarch, and a couple of drops of food coloring. Sheer genius.

Let the holidays begin

Since we had a quiet weekend around the ranch, it seemed to be a good time to do a little decorating for the holidays. It's honestly a bit of a challenge--I had gotten so used to where my old decorations belonged in our previous house that it's hard to see them in a new space. But it was also a good reason to weed a few things out that just don't belong anymore. And I'm sure a few new things will replace them!

And our tree is up! Well, the tree has been standing for a couple of weeks, but now it's dressed and ready to celebrate. I love seeing all of our ornaments year after year--here's a couple of my absolute favorites.



Coca-Cola Santa--our tree is mostly decorated with Santas of multiple personalities. Mike's santas are representative of the schools he's worked for, and mine are of the Hallmark series a few years back. We're working on Parker's collection...


















Isabel Bloom mittens. Not santas, but I love them anyway.

Booster seat

Discovered a new use for the metro phone book. Parker was pretty excited to be able to sit at the big table and color!

I am thankful for...

Parker made "hand turkeys" today at school, and this made me absolutely melt when I picked him up this afternoon. I know, I'm such a sap.

Happy Holiday Shopping

Woo-hoo! All of these catalogs arrived today. Let the holiday shopping begin...maybe the Anthropologie one will have a little gift for me! :)

Photographic proof

We--okay, mostly Mike--accomplished the huge task this weekend of getting BOTH vehicles in the garage! It's been on our list of "someday" tasks and it is so nice to finally have both of them under the roof. Of course the bikes and other summer things went down to the basement for a little winter's nap, but I think the wagon is accessible just in case of a lucky warm day.

We're anticipating a change in the weather this week after several amazingly beautiful days in the upper 60's and low 70's. (No joke.) The weather here is a very well-kept secret! Parker and I went to the park on Friday, and neither of us needed a jacket...it was a beautiful day.

Note the snowblower is visible in the photo: we're hearing there might be snow in the forecast, but nobody will admit to how much. Yikes. I hear Wednesday's high is forecasted for 26º. Brrr! If it does snow, it will be great to have both cars nice and toasty!

Old Ralphie, Meet New Ralphie

Headed to Boulder today to meet the new Ralphie. The current Buffalo is being semi-retired and will make special appearances, so a new one was unveiled today to take her place at football games. The event was held in the new bubble, which is mostly used for football, I think. (Sorry Mike if that's not right.)

Parker was a little hesitant about Ralphie. He's not fond of the buffalo mascot, Chip, either, and there were a couple of comments tossed around about him converting to a Husker instead. :)


Old Ralphie


































Checking out the bubble


BTW--I've heard through the grapevine that several of you are having problems registering on Blogger to be able to post comments. I've opened up the option for anyone to leave comments--we would love to hear from you! So, please, comment away!

Then and now

While we were at g'ma and g'pa's house last weekend, g'ma pulled out a full tupper-bin of toys she had kept from when my brothers and I were younger. There was a huge round of "oh, I remember this!" and similar remarks about how cool it was to see a reminder of our childhood again.

Parker had a great time playing with everything too. There's something about being at someone else's house with someone else's toys!

I couldn't help but notice how similar, but different, Parker's airplane and grandma's airplane were. Thirty years (gasp) of design evolution...

Whoops, cut off the nose from this one. Some photographer I am...

Cataloging

One of my spare time projects has been to catalog the last few months' worth of photos. I wish I were doing more creative or productive things, but I've been putting this off and need to get it done and off my list of "to-do's". I am very religious about archiving and backing up, but sometimes my organizational skills (like cataloging) admittedly need help.

At the same time, going back through these photos been a great reflection on everything we've done, seen and experienced since the summer. And I am totally amazed at how much Parker has changed!







(Designer note--did you know you can make contact sheets out of Bridge? I felt like a total genius for figuring that one out...)

Home Sweet...Iowa

We made the trip to the motherland this past weekend and I'm still catching up, so I apologize it's been a while since I've blogged. We had a fun visit back home--had the chance to catch up with so many people, which was great. It just felt good to be among our friends again. For those of you who we weren't able to connect with, hopefully next time will work out...

We spent a couple of days in Ames and went to the ISU-CU game (the real reason for the trip) and then a couple of days at grandma and grandpa's for a good spoiling. :) Parker was a trooper through the entire trip, even for not feeling 100%.























On the field after the ISU win.

















Daddy, is that really the score?
























Playing in the leaves.
























And being super cool.

Ouchie, ouchie...

Parker has another double ear infection. I had thought (and hoped, I guess) we were in the clear with all of the ear issues, but we made a visit to our friendly pediatrician this morning after noticing some gook the other day. I'm feeling so bad for him that he's had to go through all of this. The bright side? It had been just over two months since his last infection--that's the longest stretch I can remember without having had any problems.

Retired

Another pair of shoes has sadly been forced into early retirement. While putting the Robeez on the shelf was sad, putting his first real pair of shoes really struck me as to how fast he's growing.

Parker still has some strides to make in the weight department, although I think he's stretching out again and gained a little height. (Some 12 month pants from the Ohio contingent are finally too short...) We'll find out for sure next week at his checkup, but that's just my intuition.

Get Ready for the Holidays!

Wow--it's November already, and time to start thinking about getting ready for the upcoming holidays. Here's a great way to get started!

As many of you know, designing custom cards and invitations is one of the things I enjoy creating most. It's like giving your family (or yourself) a signature look--be it fun, traditional, or modern.

For the month of November, I'm offering to help you get started on your holiday cards with a flat rate for design services! This gives you the opportunity to collect up your favorite photo (or photos) and have beautiful, custom designed photo cards or greeting cards ready for you to print at Shutterfly, Kodak Gallery, etc.

Here's a couple of samples!




























It's a great way to make your (and your family's) holiday cards more personal and extra-special this year. If you're interested in more information, send me an email at moresville@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Day in the Life

Busy day at the Ranch.

Got Parker's hair cut this morning--he squirmed a little bit at first, and then sat in a yellow car and watched the Wiggles, and everything was right with the world again. He actually looks like a little boy now. I can't stop staring.

Came home, had lunch, nap, etc. Woke up, snack, and then Parker and I painted. We hadn't braved this activity at home yet for obvious reasons, but it was fun.



























































Then we played outside for a while.






















After dinner, calls to grandma about what toys she has ready for next weekend. Yup, that photo would demonstrate his ability to double-fist the phones...I didn't teach him that.

Sparkly Colors

This glass orb was a gift from a good friend a while back and I love how it catches the light. The corner windows behind the kitchen sink face south and west, so I get to enjoy it most during the day. Makes doing the dishes a little more cheerful!

Oh, Swedish Fish, How I Love Thee...

Among the halloween festivities and treats at the studio this week (yes, all week), there has been a lovely offering of Swedish Fish. We all keep commenting on how dangerous it is to have them in our presence, yet they seem to keep disappearing. :)

Someday I'll have a sweet ride like this. Sweet, indeed.